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Fun fact: I actually have a regular job in a regular office complete with my humble abode of a cubicle. While our work style of dress would best be described as business-casual, I’m fortunate to work in a department that is relatively free-spirited when it comes to self expression in the form of nail colors. I haven’t worn any of the stiletto nails to work because I can’t type with them, but I get compliments all the time and many of my coworkers watch out for the days when I come to work with a new nail design.

I realize that many women work in more conservative work environments and are limited to nude and neutral shades for their fingernails. To these women, I say wear some closed-toe shoes and rock some crazy colors on your toenails! But on your fingernails, there may still be ways to sneak in a little bit of pizazz. This nail look was pretty much stolen from one of my nail diva high school classmates I saw this past weekend during my 10 year high school reunion (*gasp* I’ve revealed my age!). The restaurant was dimly lit but her nude polish with a glitter accent finger really appealed to me. So I stole it…she knows I had plans to steal it though 😀

If you’ve scrolled through my blog, you’ll see that the great majority of my designs are not conservative-workplace-appropriate but I hope you nail divas with constraints can try this look.

I painted all but my index fingers with Essie Ballet Slippers, a very pale and sheer cool pink color. It actually took 4 coats for me to get it this opaque :-|. This required a great deal of dry time between coats to avoid bubbles later. Sorry folks, I’m not a sheer polish fan but I love this color and it’s been sitting in my collection for months waiting to be used for the first time. For my index fingers I used 2 coats of Orly Tiara, my go-to silver microglitter polish, and 2 coats of Sally Hansen Extreme Wear Set the Stage, a clear top-coat based polish with large gold hexagonal glitter pieces and smaller gold microglitter pieces. I topped it all off with CND Super Shiney because I don’t think my nails could’ve taken the thickness of my normal Seche Vite.

So what do you think? Do you think you could get away with this bit of pizazz? Maybe on a Friday?

P.S. Here’s the manicure I rocked for my high school reunion last weekend. I kept it simple. Two coats of Essie Shift Power, a gold polish that is neither creme nor a true shimmer but awesome, and thin stripes with my black Art Deco Nail Art Striper.